1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Wedding Band. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
This play takes place in a small group of houses, and their backyards, in South Carolina during the Summer of 1918. It centers around the relationship of Julia and Herman, a black woman and a white male who have been in a relationship for ten years, but it also explores many other questions of equality through prominent secondary characters such as Nelson, a black military man, Fanny, a ‘race’ woman who is trying to hold up the good black image, and others.
The dramatic situation is the complications that arise from the second act after Herman falls ill. This leads to a load of problems and questions regarding their relationship and the equality, or lack thereof, that Julia is treated with by Herman’s family. This is what causes Julia and Herman to almost break up right before his death, this is what causes Julia to reevaluate her stance on race, and this is what pushes Julia to stand up for herself to Herman’s family.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? NOTE: Arguments might be made for several different points where stasis is broken. Be prepared to defend your point of view, if different from other students.
This intrusion is when Herman falls sick and causes the dominoes to start falling towards the end of the play. This is what causes Herman’s family to come, and then in effect, Julia to reevaluate her relationship with the white race.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
This is the day that Herman fell sick with influenza causing his family to come to Julia’s home and starting the track for her to become more race oriented. The events had to take place at this point in time and in a southern state because of the relations between races in this state in 1918, and the fact that interracial relations are still illegal.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Will Herman and Julia’s love be able to prevail with the way that interracial relations are seen at this point in time and space? Should Julia be more proactive in standing up for her own race? What is a true family?
5. Use Julia to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Wedding Band the wants of Julia are in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual or individuals, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles in the play.
Julia moves from place to place in the play so no one will bother her. She just wants a place where no one will pick her out of a crowd to torment her because of her relationship with Herman, This is a very me vs. society issue because the people forcing her to move are doing so because it doesn’t fit into their norms and ideas of right. Near the middle of the play all Julia wants is to finally live with Herman and be married to him. This held back from four different obstacles. First, there is the me vs. society obstacle that doesn’t allow them to be together in South Carolina, so they must go to a northern city to get married. The second obstacle here me vs. another. This obstacle arises when Herman’s family show up, causing Julia to reevaluate their relationship. The third obstacle is me vs myself. This comes from Julia asking herself why they haven’t been married yet and why should she marry into a family that hates her. The final obstacle is me vs. fate. This arises when Herman falls sick and begins to die, ruining their plans.
At the end Julia wants to be apart of the community and stand up for her race. This is a me vs society and me vs myself issue as Julia has to fight society to stand up for her race, but she also has to fight with her inner beliefs to finally allow her to do this.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Wedding Band.
The most theatrical moment in the play is when Julia is arguing with Herman’s mother. The exaggerated actions and yelling and words being thrown around are meant to make the viewer uncomfortable and this is magnified tenfold with the exaggerations that a stage production has.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Wedding Band. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
The actual wedding band that Julia gets from Herman that she hangs around her neck is a perfect example of imagery. It symbolizes the love that they cannot have. She puts the ring under her dress to hide it, just like she hides her love, and she never wears it on her finger because they can never really be married.
The colored tickets that Herman buys for him and Julia are also very symbolic. It doesn’t just symbolize the split between their races and how hard it is for them to actually be close together, but it symbolizes the disconnect that Herman has from their situation compared to Julia. He just doesn't quite get it as a white man.
The sign that Herman’s sister puts in there window saying “We Are American Citizens” is very powerful imagery. It shows the plight that other non-American white races, especially German, were going through at this time too. Herman was being discriminated against, but in a different way than Julia. Because Julia feels her plight is worse, it makes it difficult for her to sympathize with Herman.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Wedding Band.
-Racism and prejudice against others -Comparison of pains felt and ability to sympathize -Ignorance -Problems cause by supremism
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Wedding Band? Perhaps you might argue for several different kinds of family in this particular play. What do you think?
Family is a very key factor to this play. It has Herman’s connections and loyalties to his own family holding him back from forming his new family with Julia. The notion that him and Julia could ever be a family is challenged here as well, and it also questions if they ever do become a ‘family’, will it ever work or will they ever truly be accepted together, even in the North.
Then there is the family that Julia finds with her neighbors in her backyard. This is what Julia can find comfort in when her own attempt at a family starts to fall apart in her hands. All she wants is company to visit her or invite her to do things. She wants to feel loved as a part of a group, and she finally has that.
This play takes place in a small group of houses, and their backyards, in South Carolina during the Summer of 1918. It centers around the relationship of Julia and Herman, a black woman and a white male who have been in a relationship for ten years, but it also explores many other questions of equality through prominent secondary characters such as Nelson, a black military man, Fanny, a ‘race’ woman who is trying to hold up the good black image, and others.
The dramatic situation is the complications that arise from the second act after Herman falls ill. This leads to a load of problems and questions regarding their relationship and the equality, or lack thereof, that Julia is treated with by Herman’s family. This is what causes Julia and Herman to almost break up right before his death, this is what causes Julia to reevaluate her stance on race, and this is what pushes Julia to stand up for herself to Herman’s family.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? NOTE: Arguments might be made for several different points where stasis is broken. Be prepared to defend your point of view, if different from other students.
This intrusion is when Herman falls sick and causes the dominoes to start falling towards the end of the play. This is what causes Herman’s family to come, and then in effect, Julia to reevaluate her relationship with the white race.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
This is the day that Herman fell sick with influenza causing his family to come to Julia’s home and starting the track for her to become more race oriented. The events had to take place at this point in time and in a southern state because of the relations between races in this state in 1918, and the fact that interracial relations are still illegal.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Will Herman and Julia’s love be able to prevail with the way that interracial relations are seen at this point in time and space?
Should Julia be more proactive in standing up for her own race?
What is a true family?
5. Use Julia to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Wedding Band the wants of Julia are in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual or individuals, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles in the play.
Julia moves from place to place in the play so no one will bother her. She just wants a place where no one will pick her out of a crowd to torment her because of her relationship with Herman, This is a very me vs. society issue because the people forcing her to move are doing so because it doesn’t fit into their norms and ideas of right.
Near the middle of the play all Julia wants is to finally live with Herman and be married to him. This held back from four different obstacles. First, there is the me vs. society obstacle that doesn’t allow them to be together in South Carolina, so they must go to a northern city to get married. The second obstacle here me vs. another. This obstacle arises when Herman’s family show up, causing Julia to reevaluate their relationship. The third obstacle is me vs myself. This comes from Julia asking herself why they haven’t been married yet and why should she marry into a family that hates her. The final obstacle is me vs. fate. This arises when Herman falls sick and begins to die, ruining their plans.
At the end Julia wants to be apart of the community and stand up for her race. This is a me vs society and me vs myself issue as Julia has to fight society to stand up for her race, but she also has to fight with her inner beliefs to finally allow her to do this.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Wedding Band.
The most theatrical moment in the play is when Julia is arguing with Herman’s mother. The exaggerated actions and yelling and words being thrown around are meant to make the viewer uncomfortable and this is magnified tenfold with the exaggerations that a stage production has.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Wedding Band. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
The actual wedding band that Julia gets from Herman that she hangs around her neck is a perfect example of imagery. It symbolizes the love that they cannot have. She puts the ring under her dress to hide it, just like she hides her love, and she never wears it on her finger because they can never really be married.
The colored tickets that Herman buys for him and Julia are also very symbolic. It doesn’t just symbolize the split between their races and how hard it is for them to actually be close together, but it symbolizes the disconnect that Herman has from their situation compared to Julia. He just doesn't quite get it as a white man.
The sign that Herman’s sister puts in there window saying “We Are American Citizens” is very powerful imagery. It shows the plight that other non-American white races, especially German, were going through at this time too. Herman was being discriminated against, but in a different way than Julia. Because Julia feels her plight is worse, it makes it difficult for her to sympathize with Herman.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Wedding Band.
-Racism and prejudice against others
-Comparison of pains felt and ability to sympathize
-Ignorance
-Problems cause by supremism
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Wedding Band? Perhaps you might argue for several different kinds of family in this particular play. What do you think?
Family is a very key factor to this play. It has Herman’s connections and loyalties to his own family holding him back from forming his new family with Julia. The notion that him and Julia could ever be a family is challenged here as well, and it also questions if they ever do become a ‘family’, will it ever work or will they ever truly be accepted together, even in the North.
Then there is the family that Julia finds with her neighbors in her backyard. This is what Julia can find comfort in when her own attempt at a family starts to fall apart in her hands. All she wants is company to visit her or invite her to do things. She wants to feel loved as a part of a group, and she finally has that.